By JOE ADCOCK, P-I THEATER CRITIC

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, February 21, 2008

As playwrights go, Constance Congdon is a star. She has written something like 30 plays. Her bread-and-butter worldwide hit is the 1988 tragicomedy "Tales of the Lost Formicans." It has been performed just about everywhere. The Empty Space Theatre produced it here in 1990. A Finnish translation is in the works.

"There was a problem with the Cairo production," Congdon said in an interview earlier this week. "The part where a woman compares herself with a cow. I gather that that was somehow objectionable in Egypt."

I'm talking with Congdon in advance of the upcoming production of her adaptation of "The Imaginary Invalid," Moliere's 1673 satirical farce about a hypochondriac and his incompetent doctors. It was commissioned by the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, where it premiered last spring. It caught the attention of many artistic directors, including David Esbjornson of the Seattle Repertory Theatre -- where "Invalid" opens Wednesday.

It is all very well to contact Congdon to talk about a given subject. But unlike many prominent theater artists, whose interview style is very on-topic, Congdon likes to chat freely. "On-topic," for a standard interviewee means "tell why everyone in Seattle should come and see my show." Congdon's free chat, however, strays from self promotion.

For example:

Speaking of "The Lost Formicans," the cast includes a teenage boy, Eric, who is angry about everything. Congdon's son, Sam, was 16 when the play was being written. What was his reaction to "Formicans?"

"Well ... he was not thrilled. Because Eric was, yes, pretty much based on Sam and his friends. But you know what? A friend of his used the connection as a way of hitting on a girl. They were in a group, all of them were familiar with the play, and Sam's friend says to this girl, 'Hey, did you know that Sam is Eric?' "

Speaking of Sam, all is forgiven? "Oh, the business about Eric is passed. Sam is now 37. He's a union stagehand now. His wife is a wardrobe mistress. She belongs to the same union."

Any grandchildren? "One, Corabella. She's 1. She's just starting to walk. She has this evil laugh. I tell her, 'Say "grandma",' and she gives me this (Congdon produces a sinister cackle right out of the musical 'Wicked.')"

What about a day job? When we talked, Congdon, 63, was in her office at Amherst College, where she teaches playwriting. She assures me that Amherst "has been coeducational since 1976, and it is no longer a preserve of ruling-class young men. The fraternities are gone. If your parents make less that $60,000, you can come here free."

Back to the free chat:

"I voted in the primary for Barack Obama. I find Hillary so irritating. She never seems to speak from the heart. I wonder if that is sexism on my part. Women can be just as sexist as anybody. Ideally, Hillary would be president with Obama as vice president. But here's what I would really love: Al Gore. I hear people talking about him as a possible dark horse. I adore him. He's not a stuffed shirt. Have you seen him on 'Saturday Night Live?' He's a good actor, he can be hilarious."

With health care popping up continually in the presidential campaigns, will playgoers spot any parallels between 17th-century France and 21st-century America?

"The precise issues are different. Moliere satirizes bloodletting and enemas. Now there was a topic dear to his patron, King Louis XIV. Louis would sometimes have up to 15 enemas a day, and at least one at a minimum. Our focus is different now. But the discontent is similar. Just talk to people. Are they satisfied with their health care -- assuming they have health care? Me? I finally have an HMO I like -- after three tries!

What are you working on now?

"You know how you can tell a real Westerner? You ask, 'What is this country's biggest problem?' And the answer without hesitation is 'water.' Our aquifers are running out and they simply cannot -- cannot! -- be replaced. I grew up in Colorado, so this is something I've thought about a lot. And it's not just us. The Middle East. You say to some people, 'Israel is building this security wall in such a way that it just happens to grab water resources as well as land' and they call you anti-Semitic. ... But King Hussein of Jordan has said that the next big war will be fought over water. So anyway, the answer to your question is water, I'm writing a play about water. It's a commission from the Denver Center. I don't have a title yet."

Does the Internet ever interfere with work?

"I was going to give up Facebook. It can be so fascinating, catching up with friends, and very time-consuming. But now I'm hooked again. Last night two friends challenged me to a game of Scrabulous -- Scrabble for the Internet. On average, I win one out of three games."